IL: Vernay on pole in Alabama

The Frenchman's Indy Lights arrival continues to cause waves as he takes pole position at Barber Motorsports Park by half a second.

Jean-Karl Vernay picked up where he left off from St. Petersburg to claim his first Firestone Indy Lights pole position at Barber Motorsports Park.

The Frenchman claimed victory on his series debut last time out, albeit from second position on the grid, but the former F3 Euroseries race winner was in even better form driving his Sam Schmidt entry to take pole in Alabama by almost half a second.

"I am very happy to be on the pole because yesterday we didn't have very good practice runs," he said. "I finished P7 in practice and wasn't very confident heading into today. We worked really late and my crew did a great job on my car. This proves that when you work hard, it pays off.